Machine for ironing the edges of collars and cuffs.



No. 804,102. PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905. W. C. CUNNINGHAM.

MACHINE FOR IRONING THE EDGES OF COLLARS AND CUFFS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13,1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

66W m odm No. 804,102. PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905. w. 0. CUNNINGHAM. MACHINEFOR IRONING THE EDGES OF COLLARS AND (JUFFS.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 13,1904.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

PATENTED NOV. 7,1905.

W. G. CUNNINGHAM. MACHINE FOR IRONING THE EDGES 0P COLLARS AND GUFFS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13, 1904.

48HEBTS-SHBET 3.

Ill

PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905.

No. 804,102. W. C. CUNNINGHAM.

MACHINE FOR IRONING THE EDGES 0F CCLLARS AND CUFFS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13,1904.

4 SKEETS-BHBET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER C. CUNNINGHAM, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICANMACHINERY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA.

A No. 804,102.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1905.

Application filed. August 13, 1904. Serial No. 220,677.

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, WALTER C. CUNNING- HAM, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinesfor Ironing the Edges of Collars and Cuffs; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains,to;,make and use the same. 1, I

My invention relates to so-called edgeironing machines that is, thatclass of ma.- chines which are especially adapted for use in laundriesto iron edges of collars and cuffs, and has for its object to generallyimprove the same in point of efliciency, simplicity, and rapidity ofaction. v

i To the above ends'thelinvention consists of thenoveldevicesandcombinations of devices hereinaftelfdescribed,anddefinedin theclaims.

, The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinlike charactersaindicatelikeparts throughout the severalviews. Figurelis aview jn side elevation, illus- I trating my improved machine. Fig: 2is a plan View. of .the machine with; some-parts broken away. .Fig. 3 isa detail intransverse section, taken, appltoximately on the, line a a f.Fig- 1.; gt4is a transverse vertical secdetail ,in horizontal sectiononthe line a? w of Fig. 1, some parts being, removed. Fig-. 6 is a detailin bottom plan View, some parts being broken away and others-removed.Fig.7 is

a groove 2, in which is loosely journaleda plurality of small groovedbed ,rollsor wheels 3, adapted to engage the lower edge of the collar orcuff, as will hereinafter more fully appear.-

The character a indicates a collar (see Fig. 4) which is supported inVertical position by the said bed-wheels 3. The collar is held in anupright position and is fed longitudinally of the machine by opposingpairs of verticallydisposed feed-rolls 4, 4, and 5, said rolls 5 beingidle members loosely journaled on the face of the frame 1. Thefeed-rolls 4 and 4 are preferably rubber-faced to give them increasedfrictional action on the collar or cufl". The inner rolls, 4 and 4 areprovided with the depending shafts 6, that are journaled in a bearingportion 7 of the frame 1 and are provided at their lower ends withgrooved pulleys 8. The outer roller 4 and 4 have depending stems 9, thatare journaled in the bearing 7 with freedom for lateral movement, so asto permit the cooperating rollers to move toward and from each other,and thus adapt themselves to the thickness of the collar or cuff. Asillustrated in Fig. 4, the stems 9 are reduced at 10 and at such pointsare engaged by spring-pressed plungers 11, mounted in the bearing 7 andsubject to a coiled spring 12, held by a cap-nut 13, screwed into a seatin said bearing and affording means for adjusting the tension of thespring 12.

Endless feed-belts 14, working in opposing pairs, run over the endrolls4 and 5 and bear against the corresponding intermediate rolls 4. Thecollar or-cuff is introduced between {the belts-14 by entering thembetween the idle rolls v5 and to facilitate thus entering themsaidrolls5 are so spaced as to cause the belts to'vdiverge or flare apartslightly at the receiving portions. Of course the chief feeding actionis produced by the feed-rollers 4 and 4; but the belts 14 greatly assistin the feeding action and serve to deliver the collar or cuff to thefeed-rollers 4, and, furthermore, they serve to hold the collar or cuflstraight and make unnecessary the use of guide-flanges on the frame 1.

Extending transversely of and mounted in the side-flanges of-the frame 1is a countershaft 15, which carries a grooved pulley 16 at itsintermediate portion and another grooved pulley 17 at itsouter end. Thesaid countershaft at its extreme outer end is provided with a pulley 18,over which runs a powerdriven belt (not shown) to impart motion to saidcounter-shaft and other running parts of the machine, as will presentlyappear. An endless driving-belt 19, which is preferably round incross-section, runs over the grooved pulleys'8 of the roller-shaft 6 andover the grooved pulley 16, said belt being'preferably' given a completewrap about said pulley 16 for the purposes of increased friction.

Rigidly secured on the receiving end of the frame 1to wit, on theright-hand end thereof, as shown in the drawings-is averticallyextendedbearing-pedestal 20, which, as shown, is bifurcated. In the bearingsafforded by the prongs of the pedestal 20 is loosely journaled acounter-shaft 21, which carries'three' grooved pulleys 22, 23, and 24. v

The numeral indicates a tubular arm having a hub portion 26, which isjournaled on the shaft 21 just inward of the pulley 24', said arm beingthus mounted for vertical pivotal movements. At its forwardly-projectingfree end the tubular arm 25 is formed with a laterally-turned hollowtrunnion 27, which is closed at its outer end, but is provided near itsouter end with radial passages 28, as shown in Fig. 3. Loosely journaledon the trunnion 27 is a sleeve 29, which carries a grooved pulley and aclamping-disk 31. The ex-- treme'outer end of said sleeve 29 is closed;

but near its outer end is formed with radial water-passages 32, that areadapted to register successively with the radial passages 28 of saidtrunnion 27. Said sleeve 29 is held against axial displacement byset-screw 33, which works therethrough and at its inner end runs in agroove 34, formed in said trunnion.

Working with screw-threaded engagement on the outer end of the sleeve 29is a clamping-disk 35, which cooperates with the rela tively fixedclamping-disk 31 to clampin position an annular moistening-ring 36 offelt or other absorbent material. This moistening-ring 36 covers theperforations 32 of the sleeve 29 and is supplied with water theretions28 and through the hollow arm 25 and trunnion 27. Said clamping-disksand moistening-ring together make up What 1 term a moistening-wheel. Theprojecting flanges of the disks 31 and 35 embrace the upper edge of thecollar or cufli, and the moistening-ring 36 rotates in contact with theupper-edge thereof, thereby dampening the same and putting the same inproper condition for ironing. The extreme downward movement of the arm25 is limited by a fixed stop 37 on the face of the frame 1. (See Fig.1.) Motion is imparted to the sleeve 29, and hence to themoistening-wheel, by a belt 38, which runs over the pulley 30 and overthe pulley 24. Motion is imparted to the counter-shaft 21, and hence tothe pulleys 23 and 24, through a belt 39, which runs over the pulleys 17and and 22.. In practice I have found that the weight of the arm 25 andparts carried thereby will cause the moistening-wheel to press tooheavily upon the edge of the collar or cufl, and hence I have providedthe said arm with a counterbalance extension 40, having an adjustablecounterweight 41, by the adjustment of which weight the saidmoistening-wheel may beset to any desired pressure. Adownwardly-inclined trough-like cam-plate 42 is rigidly secured, asshown by bracket 43, to'the arm2'5, and when the edge of the collar orcufl' is thrown against the cam-plate 42 it will assist in raising themoistening-ring 36. The moistening-water is, as shown, supplied frame 1by a post 45. This tank 44 has adepending valved discharge-tube46, whichis connected by a flexible tube 47' to on the tubular arm 25.

A second arm 49, which is much longer than the arm 25 and which, asshown, is pronged at its pivot end, is pivoted on the shaft 21 and isprovidedwith a counterbala nipple 48 ancing' extension 50, havingadjustable coun-' terweight 51.

At its forwardly-projecting free end the arm 49 carries an ironingdevice which in the form of the device illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6,inclusive, is in the formof a grooved metallic ironing-wheel 52, theshaft 53 of which is directly jo'urnaled in said arm and is providedwith a grooved pulley 54. Rotary motion is imparted to the saidironing-wheel by a belt 55, which runs over said pulley 54 and over 'thepulley 23 of the shaft 5 21. jwheel 52' stands in position to engage themoistened upper edge of the collar or cuflt" as the same isfedtheret'ofrom the moisteningwheel by the cooperating feed-rolls and belts.

The peripheral groove of the ironing- The said ironing-wheel on itsinner-face is formed with an annular flange 52", which affords a sort ofcombustion-chamber, into which projects the-flame froma gas-burner tube56, which, as shown, is rigid on the head from delivered thereto throughthe perforaof arm 49 and at its receiving end is provided with a pairof, valved inlet-nipples 57.

In practice gas under'pressure would be delivered into one ofthe-nipples 57 and air un der pressure into the other from flexibledefrom an elevated tank 44, supported from the livery-tubes (not shown)extended from suit:

able sources of supply. A downwardly-inclined trough-like cam-plate 58is rigidly secured to said arm 49, as shown, by means of bracket 59.When the edge of the collar or cuff is thrownagai-nst the cam-plate 58,it willassist in raising the ironing-Wheel 52'.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 7 and Sis the same as thatpreviously described, with the following exceptions: Instead ofanironing-wheel an ironing-shoe'60 is carried by the free end on the arm49. The flexible water-delivery tube 47 is connected tonozzletube 61,secured to the outer portion of the arm 25. The discharge end of thisnozzletube 61 immediately overlies the felt ring of themoistening-wheel.

The stems 9 of the outer rollers 4 and 4' project at their upper endsand are journaled in bearings 62 of flat springs 63, the lower ends ofwhich springs bear against the outer side of the frame-bearing 7 and areadjustedly clamped thereto by thumb-screws 64'.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as follows: 1. In a machine of the class described thecombination with means for feeding and guiding the articles to beironed, of a verticallymovable edge-ironing member, a verticallymovablesupport, a moistening-wheel carried by said support for action on theedge of the article being ironed, and means for supplying Water to saidmoistening-wheel, having a water-conduit extending through saidverticallymovable support and peripherally out through the journal andhub portion of said moistening-Wheel, substantially as described.

2. The combination witha suitable framework and means for feeding andguiding the articles to be ironed, of a vertically-movable edge-ironingmember, a vertically-movable tubular supporting-arm pivotally supportedfrom said frame and having a hollow laterallyextended trunnion formedwith peripheral passages, means for supplying water to said tubular arm,a sleeve having a closed outer end journaled onto said trunnion, andprovided with a clamping flange or disk and with radial Water-passagesadapted to register with the radial passages ofisaid trunnion, aclamping-disk working with screw-threaded engagement on said sleeve, andan absorbent moistening-ring surrounding the water-passages of saidsleeve and clamped between the clamping-disks thereof, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination with a suitable frame, of opposing pairs offeed-rollers set upright, endless belts running in pairs over saidfeedrollers, adapted to feed the article to be ironed edgewise, andvertically-movable moistening and ironing devices, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER C. CUNNINGHAM.

Witnesses:

H. D. KILGORE, E. W. J EPPESEN.

